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Rohingya issue: Suu Kyi-India intransigence carries few explanations

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(L-R) Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]~By Lilly Paul

Rohingya immigrants in India were given Long Term Visas in 2012 (valid till 2015), but this has been discontinued

As the problem of the forced Rohingya exodus increases, so does the criticism of Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi. She has not only been unable to stop the fleeing of these persecuted people but has been rather timid in her comments, having said that the situation is being twisted by a “huge iceberg of misinformation”.

“We make sure that all the people in our country are entitled to protection of their rights as well as, the right to, not just political but social and humanitarian defence”, she reportedly told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a phone call on September 5.

There has been a move to ask the Nobel Committee to take back her Nobel Peace Prize. And, amid this hue and cry, Suu Kyi has decided not to attend the United Nations General Assembly this year. The Assembly is expected to discuss the Rohingya crisis in its session from September 19 to 25. Instead, Suu Kyi is expected to speak over a televised address on September 19.

The UN Security Council, after its meeting on September 13, issued its first statement on Myanmar in nine years. It has publicly condemned the violence and called on Myanmar to end its campaign against Rohingyas. The 15-member Council held its meeting behind closed doors at the request of Sweden and Britain.

The United Nations Human Rights Commissioner chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein called the Myanmar situation a textbook example of ethnic cleansing and also criticised India for its plan to deport Rohingyas at a time of violence in their country.

Kiren Rijiju

However, the Indian government is rather stiff towards UNHCR and its refugee undertakings in the country. Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju had earlier clarified that all illegal immigrants would be deported including the ones who have been issued ID cards by the UNHCR. There are 16,500 UN identified Rohingya refugees in India.

UNHCR told India Legal: “UNHCR is aware of the media articles reporting on the government’s plan to deport Rohingya. UNHCR has not received any official communication from the government in this regard and there are no reported instances of deportations of UNHCR registered Rohingya from India.”

Apart from being criticised by the UNHCR, India is also upsetting its immediate neighbours with its pro-Myanmar stand. According to reports, it was Bangladesh which was the reason behind India’s changed stance on the Rohingya refugee crisis. After Bangladesh High Commissioner Syed Muazzem Ali met India’s Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, the Ministry of External Affairs released a statement declaring its concern over the situation in Rakhine and over the outflow of refugees from that region.

On the other hand, the protests inside the country against and in support of the Rohingyas have intensified further. On September 13, hundreds protested outside the Myanmar embassy in Chanakyapuri, Delhi against the government’s decision. The civil society along with human rights activists joined the Rohingyas in this protest. RJD spokesperson Manoj Jha and AISA student activist Shehla Rashid also joined the protest. Before this, the Rohingyas along with other Indians had protested at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi on September 5. Similar protests have been held in other cities as well such as Kolkata and Jaipur.

The anti-Rohingya sentiments are also on rise. Two PILs have been filed in the Supreme Court asking it to intervene in an ongoing hearing against Rohingya deportation. RSS ideologue Govindacharya and a Chennai-based group Indic Collective have sought to intervene in the matter asking to deport Rohingyas as they could probably be a threat to the country.

Amidst all this, one item of news from Hyderabad said a 20-year-old Rohingya man was arrested on the charge of cheating and forgery as he had obtained Indian identity card to get a passport and travel to Dubai. Mohammad Ismail was arrested along with an Aadhaar card, a Voter ID card and also a PAN card.

This brings us to another matter— what is the legal recognition provided to the Rohingya refugees in India, if at all.

In May, 2012, after a month long protest by the Rohingyas backed by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), India had granted them long-term visas (LTV). Although they protested to get official refugee status from the government, the Indian government did not give them any such recognition.

This was because India which is home to refugees from several countries has no refugee law of its own. India does not even differentiate between immigrants and refugees. As per UNHCR refugees are “persons fleeing armed conflict or persecution” whereas migrants are people who choose to move so as to improve their lives by finding work, or in some cases education, family reunion, or other reasons. However, India makes no such distinction. An illegal migrant as defined in Section 2 (1) (b) of the Citizenship Act, 1955 is a foreigner who entered India without a valid passport or travel documents or is staying in India after the expiry of the passport and other travel documents. There is no mention of refugees and granting them asylum.

However, India granted Rohingyas LTVs in 2012 which was to be valid until 2015. India continued with the granting of LTVs to Rohingyas.

Rohingya

Sabbir, Founder of Rohingya Human Rights Initiative, who runs a mobile repair shop along with an Indian partner, told India Legal: “In Delhi there are around 1,200 Rohingyas among which 800 to 850 people have already got long term visas from the Foreigner Regional Registration Office.”

However, the Indian government has now stopped giving Rohingyas LTVs and the FRRO website states that visas will only be granted to Pakistani and Bangladeshi nationals. It is unclear as to why did the Indian government stop granting them LTVs because as per a press release issued by Press Information Bureau titled “Law for refugees in India”, the government talks about circulating a standard operating procedure while dealing with foreign nationals “who claim to be refugees”.

The release dated August 6, 2014 mentions that long term visas will be permitted on grounds of persecution due to race, religion, sex, nationality, ethnic identity, membership of a particular social group or political opinion. In the case of Rohingyas, it is clear that they are being persecuted on the grounds of ethnicity and therefore they are eligible of getting long-term visas. Therefore there’s no point why the government decided to stop the LTVs.

UNHCR told India Legal: “The Government also issue Long Term Visas to refugees which eases their access to public services, bank accounts and employment in the private sector. Because of some recent changes to documentation processes, some refugees have reportedly been facing challenges in accessing public services and opening bank accounts with their existing documentation”.

The government is clearly discriminating between Rohingyas and migrants from other countries. Not only has it denied Long Term Visa to the Rohingyas despite accepting a standard operating procedure as per which they qualify to get LTVs, the government is granting special facilities to other religious communities. This Ministry of Home Affairs put out a statement in August, 2016 wherein it gave various facilities to persons belonging to ‘minority community’ in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, namely, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians, who are staying in India on LTV.

The government here, decided to issue PAN card and Aadhaar card to such people. Further, all benefits extended to such people will be linked to Aadhaar numbers. It is unclear as to how did the Rohingyas get Aadhaar card and other Indian ID cards. There is definitely a flaw in the Indian security system. It will now be even more difficult for the government to identify Rohingyas as many of the ones living here from long already have obtained ID cards and the other who have recently arrived are now desperate to get those cards or to leave the country and travel to safer places like Ismail tried to do.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Manipur: Congress hits back at BJP chief Nadda’s letter to Kharge

Ramesh emphasised that Nadda’s letter is replete with inaccuracies and reiterated that the people of Manipur long for normalcy, peace, and harmony.

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The Congress on Friday lashed out at BJP president JP Nadda’s accusations that the Opposition party was promoting a politically motivated narrative concerning the situation in Manipur.

The grand old party described Nadda’s letter to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge as a 4D exercise, which means denial, distortion, distraction, and defamation.

Nadda, responding to Kharge’s call for President Droupadi Murmu’s intervention and his claims of the Centre’s total failure in managing the crisis, claimed that the consequences of Congress’s “abject failure” in handling local issues in Manipur during its governance are still being felt today.

Responding to Nadda, Congress General Secretary for Communications Jairam Ramesh stated, “Congress President Kharge ji wrote to the President of India on Manipur. Apparently, to counter that letter, the BJP President has now written to the Congress President.”

Ramesh emphasised that Nadda’s letter is replete with inaccuracies and reiterated that the people of Manipur long for normalcy, peace, and harmony.

He noted that they are posed with four critical questions: When will the Prime Minister visit the state? How much longer will the Chief Minister remain in office despite lacking majority support? When will a full-time Governor be appointed? And when will the Union Home Minister be held accountable for his failures in Manipur?

Nadda expressed astonishment at the Congress’s ongoing efforts to sensationalize the situation in Manipur, pointing out that Kharge appeared to overlook the fact that his party’s past government had legitimized the illegal migration of foreign militants to India, during which former Home Minister P Chidambaram had signed relevant treaties.

On Tuesday, Kharge had written to President Murmu regarding the worsening conditions in Manipur, requesting her immediate intervention to ensure that the citizens of the state can live peacefully and with dignity.

In his two-page letter, Kharge accused both the Union and Manipur state governments of “completely failing” to restore peace and normalcy over the past 18 months, resulting in a loss of public confidence in their leadership.

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Rahul Gandhi is right, Gautam Adani should be arrested: RJD president Lalu Yadav

“Rahul Gandhi is right. Adani should be arrested,” said Prasad, who is an old ally of the Congress and a staunch opponent of the BJP, to which Adani is said to be close.

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RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav on Friday spoke in support of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s demand for immediate arrest of Gautam Adani, after the Industrialist was charged in the US for alleged bribery and fraud.

Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said on Thursday that Gautam Adani should be arrested immediately, and his protector Madhabi Puri Buch should be investigated

The former Congress chief claimed that the recent developments vindicate his long-standing allegations against Gautam Adani. He took a sharp dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and alleged that Modi is protecting Adani, and is also involved in corruption. 

Yadav, the former chief minister of Bihar, was responding to queries from journalists here about Gandhi’s statement on the previous day, in the backdrop of charges of bribery and fraud against the Adani group in the US.

“Rahul Gandhi is right. Adani should be arrested,” said Prasad, who is an old ally of the Congress and a staunch opponent of the BJP, to which Adani is said to be close.

The RJD supremo, who incidentally has been convicted in several fodder scam cases and is on bail, was also asked about prospects of the INDIA bloc, of which his party is a part, in Jharkhand, where the counting of votes for assembly polls is scheduled on Saturday.

Speaking to PTI, the ailing septuagenarian replied, “I would like to remain focused on my statement that Adani must be arrested. I am not worried much about a new government (in Jharkhand) where we are already in power.” Jharkhand witnessed a straight battle between the INDIA bloc and the BJP-led NDA, which included the JD(U) headed by Nitish Kumar, Prasad’s arch-rival and the current Chief Minister of Bihar.

Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Gandhi further said that Chief Ministers have been jailed for scams of Rs 10-15 crore, but Adani, who has committed a scam of Rs 2000 crore is walking free.

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Cash for votes row: BJP leader Vinod Tawde sends legal notice to Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, asks them to apologise or face defamation

The BJP leader said the allegations against him were false, baseless and made with malafide intentions.

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Cash for votes row: BJP leader Vinod Tawde sends legal notice to Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, asks them to apologise or face defamation

BJP leader Vinod Tawde, accused of distributing cash to influence voters, has sent a legal notice to Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Supriya Shrinate and Rahul Gandhi over the controversy. The BJP leader has demanded their apologies or face a Rs 100-crore defamation case.

Vinod Tawde’s legal notice came after regional party Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) leader Hitendra Thakur on Tuesday accused him of distributing Rs 5 crore at a hotel in Virar in Palghar district, 60 km from Mumbai, to woo voters.

In the legal notice, the BJP leader said the allegations against him were false, baseless and made with malafide intentions. He claimed that he demanded an apology from the three Congress leaders for their remarks against him in the cash-for-votes row or he would be forced to initiate criminal proceedings against them.

Just a few hours before the Assembly Elections, a video went viral on Tuesday showing BVA workers storming into the hotel in Palghar during a meeting between Vinod Tawde and Rajan Naik, the BJP candidate from the Nalasopara seat. The BVA workers alleged that Tawde was caught red-handed with Rs 5 crore cash.

In the viral video, the BVA workers were seen taking out bundles of cash from a bag, while Tawde was sitting at a distance. The BVA workers also took pictures and videos of him on their phones. Amid these allegations, BVA leaders said that Rs 5 crore cash was distributed, an election official on Tuesday said Rs 9.93 lakh cash was recovered from the hotel rooms.

However, Vinod Tawde denied the allegation, saying he was only providing guidance to party workers on poll procedures and said he was not stupid enough to distribute money at his opponent’s hotel. Speaking to the media, he said that the Vivanta Hotel is owned by the Thakurs, and he is not stupid to go to their hotel and distribute money there.

The Police registered two FIRs against Tawde, BJP candidate Naik and others in connection with the controversy. Additionally, the Election Commission filed three FIRs against Tawde.

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